Awakening Your 5 Spiritual Senses to God’s GraceSample

FEEL the Freedom of God’s Grace! Freedom in Christ means freedom from debt. It means that we don’t owe God anything. This is hard for many of us to believe. Growing up in Christian homes, schools, or churches, we might’ve heard, “Jesus has done so much for you. What will you do for Him in return?” Then we set out to make sacrifices to “pay Him back” for everything He has done for us. But the certificate of debt has been canceled and taken out of the way (Col. 2:14). What if the “sacrifice” that God wants is for us to awaken our senses to the wonders of God’s grace and simply give thanks? Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. (Heb. 13:15 NASB) A true sacrifice is the fruit of lips that give thanks to God. That’s what God really wants—a thankful heart. Imagine a friend shows up on your doorstop with a birthday gift for you, a gift you didn’t expect. As you thank your friend and wave good-bye, you watch him get back in the car and drive away. Then you open the gift. It’s nice. Ooh, it looks expensive. Then what? The guilt sets in. When was your friend’s last birthday? Did you get him anything? It’s really hard for us to just receive . We feel as if we should give in return, and when we can’t or haven’t, we’re flooded with guilt. We try to pay people back in some way—through gifts, or favors, or friendship. Leaving it at a heartfelt “thank you” and cherishing the gift just feels, well, selfish. But the idea that we could pay God back, especially for what He has done for us through the death and resurrection of Jesus, is nothing short of absurd. Heaven and earth are His, and He owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Ps. 50:10). He has made everything and needs nothing from us. He is not served by our human hands as if He needed anything (Acts 17:25). Instead, He gives life and breath to all things. Who has ever given God a gift that He didn’t already own? So instead of trying to give to God, how about receiving from Him? Our God calls us to receive freely from His Spirit. There’s no other way to awaken to the freedom of grace. It’s all about receiving and walking in thankfulness. Jesus, thank you for the freedom of Your grace. Thank You for holding me in Your arms and never letting me go. I trust You for heaven. But even more, I trust You for my daily living. Your Spirit is the source of all goodness produced in me. I do not fully understand how the freedom You have given me frees me from sin’s power, but you say it is so. You say that apart from the law, sin is dead. I believe you and ask you to awaken my senses to the wonders of your grace. I love You and cannot thank You enough for honoring me with freedom. [from “Heaven is Now” by Andrew Farley]